NASCAR revealed a series of new and updated rule changes that were made to the sport’s rule book on Friday, January 10, and that will be implemented for the upcoming racing season.
The first item that was both revealed and is new to NASCAR highlights the creation of the “Open Exemption Provisional” (OEP) rule, which would enable “world-class competitors” opportunities to be guaranteed starting spots for an event, pending a pre-approval, case-by-case process from NASCAR. The OEP policy, which would mirror a similar policy called “promoter’s choice provisional” that would enable special or invited competitors to compete in events involving certain forms of short-track competition, would become a factor in the event if a Cup entry list for an upcoming race exceeds the maximum starting list of 40 cars.
Within this format that restricts any current full-time Cup competitor from being eligible, an OEP entry would still be eligible for race victories and an automatic berth to the Cup Series All-Star Race. The entry, however, would not be eligible for any race points, prize money, championship points or automatic berths to the Playoffs.
Thus far, Trackhouse Racing submitted a request to use an OEP policy to guarantee four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves and the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team, which is unchartered, a starting spot for this year’s 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Any additional uses of the OEP for the upcoming 2025 season remains to be determined.
Another rule that received a critical update was NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP). Beginning in 2025, any entry driven or towed to the garage after being involved in an on-track incident will not be automatically ruled out of a race. Instead, teams will be granted an opportunity to repair and have their respective cars return to the track.
The seven-minute clock will still be implemented across all racing venues, minus Atlanta Motor Speedway which runs on an eight-minute clock. The time limit in the clock represents the time all teams will receive to attempt to repair the cars on pit road. Any team that does not complete the repairs on pit road by the time the time limit expires will have to have their respective entries taken to the garage. Compared to the previous eight seasons, where any team that violates the DVP clock would automatically be ruled out of the event, the repairs can still be made for the entries to return.
Within the DVP update, an entry that is unable to return to pit road after being involved in an accident or is left with flat tires will be towed to the garage. In addition, any team that attempts to continue a race after their DVP time session expires will be penalized. This comes after numerous competitors and teams vocally and repeatedly criticized the original DVP policy throughout the 2024 season, including the Playoffs.
A third critical component that was updated by NASCAR was the sport’s use of assessing Playoff waivers to competitors who miss even a single event throughout a season, especially throughout a regular-season stretch. We saw an occurrence of this last May when the 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson did not participate in the start of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway due to competing in the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and after having his Memorial Day double-duty attempt foiled due to Mother Nature. Despite being absent at Charlotte, Larson was still granted a waiver to be eligible for the 2024 Playoffs.
Within the updated waiver policy for the 2025 season, any driver who is suspended, misses a race or is absent for any reason aside from medical or emergency is subject to forfeit all past and future Playoff points earned throughout a season and before the Playoffs, even if granted a waiver. Competitors who are granted waivers for Playoff eligibility would commence the Cup Series’ post-season run for the championship with a maximum of 2,000 points once the Playoff standings are set.
Such medical or emergency reasons that include a competitor missing a race for the birth of a child and a family emergency would not result in any Playoff points being forfeited. Another exemption that matches the criteria of no points being forfeited is if a competitor is unable to compete an entire racing season due to age restrictions.
Additional rules that were revealed from NASCAR’s rule book include the following:
- The penalty structure for any rule violations by OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers). These violations include manufacturer points being docked and/or both wind tunnel hours and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) test runs being revoked. Additional penalties include vehicle test sessions being limited, a code of conduct being enforced and event-roster protocols being implemented.
- The use of suspensions being deferred without any form of appeal for an upcoming event after an assigned penalty is issued. This policy only applies for technical penalty purposes while any other form of suspension would be made with immediate effect.
- The performance integrity, where NASCAR’s definition of the “100% rule” would solely focus on any form of manipulation occurring that would affect the outcome of any event or championship scenarios.
- The practice and qualifying procedures across all racetrack types, were revealed on December 12.
With the new rules revealed, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to commence at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for the Cook Out Clash on February 2 with a coverage start time at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, scheduled for February 16 with a coverage start time at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Meanwhile, the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is scheduled to commence at Daytona on February 15 with a start time at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network while the Craftsman Truck Series season will commence the day prior, February 14, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
